1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to security systems and, more particularly, to a security system having a sensor attached to an article to be monitored, and which sensor has an illumination source that gives a visual indication as to a state of the system, or a component thereof.
2. Background Art
The proliferation of consumer electronic devices has presented a unique challenge to the security industry. In large electronic stores, a multitude of different types and brands of consumer electronic devices are displayed for interactive handling by potential consumers. The miniaturization of electronic devices makes them ready targets for thieves. Many sophisticated, expensive, hand held electronic devices are now of a size that they can be discretely hidden on the person of a thief and removed from the premises upon which they are displayed without detection, in the absence of some sort of safeguards.
Because of the cost of many of these components, purveyors thereof commonly invest in relatively sophisticated electronic security systems for these devices. It is common for a dozen or more of such devices to be exhibited simultaneously for handling at a single display location. At any such location, a single control unit may be utilized for a plurality of sensors, secured one each to the articles being monitored. In a typical display setup, the control unit will be hidden from view and hard-wire connected to the sensors.
The assignee herein has developed numerous electronic security systems with varying features and capabilities. One of the most common designs utilizes an illumination source, generally in the form of an LED, on each sensor to allow an individual monitoring the system to identify the state of a particular sensor and/or the overall system. In one form, one or more LED's is provided on the sensor such that illumination with a first color indicates one state, while illumination with a second color indicates a second state, of the sensor/system.
In a typical sensor construction, a sensor housing is squared or rounded in nature with an effective diameter on the order of one inch. The housing has an internal space adequate to contain circuit components, among which typically is a switch through which the sensor can be placed in a secured state, as an incident of being attached to the particular article being monitored. The housing also supports one or more LED's that is illuminated to visually indicate the state of the sensor and/or the overall system.
The exposed portion of the LED's has a relatively small area compared to that of the sensor housing. LED's, by their nature, are desirable by reason of their compact configuration and ability to project a relatively intense light. While the small size of the LED's is in one respect an advantage, their size has a detrimental aspect.
On large displays, where there are many different articles and wires connecting to the sensors, viewing of the LED's may become obscured. This is particularly a problem with respect to system monitoring by individuals assigned that task. At initial setup, as at the beginning of a business day, the overall armed state of the system, and secured/armed state of all sensors, may have to be verified by visually observing the illumination of the appropriate LED(s). In a large display, that may be cluttered by articles, wires, and other miscellaneous objects, it may be difficult to observe each LED on each article. Individuals responsible for monitoring displays may not give the appropriate attention to this task and may, for example, give a casual glance over a display without verifying the desired state of the sensors on each article. Consequently, it may go unnoticed that one or more of the sensors has not been properly installed or placed in a secured/armed state, as a result of which the associated article may be separated from the display without any detection thereof by the security system.
Another limitation with existing sensor constructions is that the LED's are permanently wired with respect to the housing and, consequently, a system user has no flexibility with respect to changing colors resulting from illumination that may reflect different states of the sensor and/or system.
The industry continues to seek out affordable and versatile systems that will be consistently and reliably set up by the end users and that will effectively permit monitoring of portable articles with which the systems are used.